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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: bay · wind · rest · court · rash · file · perch · trunk

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. My mare is ________________ in color.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. wind — moving air
  3. rest — what's left
  4. wind — moving air
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. rash — a series
  8. file — a tool
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. bay — to keep at bay
  11. rash — hasty
  12. rest — what's left
  13. court — of a king
  14. bay — a horse colour
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. court — of law
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. file — a document
  20. file — a line of people
  21. bay — a part of the sea
  22. perch — the fish
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. rest — a break

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com